The ability to control one or more devices in a building (e.g., lighting, heating, air conditioning, security systems) based on one or more parameters (e.g., time, temperature, user preference) is known as building automation. Building automation may be implemented in any of a number of different types of buildings, including homes, offices, restaurants, stores, theaters, and hotels, to name only a few.
Building automation systems may be implemented using extensive computer networks. Computer networks are known in which a server computer issues a series of command strings over an Ethernet network to an output device. The command strings are complex data structures requiring the server computer to establish an elaborate communications protocol between the server computer and the output device, followed by the server transmitting multiple data packets containing the command strings.
Transmitting these command strings consumes significant bandwidth on the network, especially when more than one command string is issued to the same or multiple output devices at the same time or within a close timeframe. Network performance decreases, resulting in slow transmission speeds and sometimes even recognizable delays in response time. Transmitting command strings also increases the potential for data corruption resulting in failed operations. In addition, when the server computer fails, all of the devices on the network are “down.”